The present invention relates to bed frames, and more particularly to an articulating bed frame for home, nursing home and hospital healthcare.
Beds and bed frames constructed for home, nursing and hospital healthcare environments provide for articulation of the frame to tilt one or more sections for the patient""s comfort and/or care. With the push of a button or lever, the back section can be made to tilt between a completely flat, reclined position and a forward, inclined position, or one or more leg positions may be made to bend or tilt between a generally flat and horizontal position and a drawn-up, bent position. More particularly, since most beds are positioned against a wall, some beds have back sections that hug the wall when inclined (raised), which provides additional space at the foot end. This also allows patients to stay within reach of bed side cabinets. To accomplish this, the existing designs of such bed frames typically comprise multiple sliding frames that retract with pivoting linkages that are heavy and costly to manufacture. In addition, the movement of such members may define a path that is larger than the underlying mattress footprint, which thus takes up more space unnecessarily.
What is desired is a bed frame that is lighter, cheaper to manufacture, has a smaller operating footprint, and still hugs the wall when inclined.
The present invention provides a bed frame that may be articulated between a generally flat and horizontal position and a back-inclined position, all while maintaining a substantially wall-hugging configuration at the head of the bed frame.
Generally speaking, an articulating bed frame includes a main frame; a back section connected to the main frame by first and second linkage assemblies, that are each pivotally connected at first and third ends to the back section and pivotally connected at opposing respective second and fourth ends to the main frame; an upper leg section connected to the main frame by a third linkage assembly and a support link assembly, the third linkage assembly being pivotally connected at opposing fifth and sixth ends to the upper leg section and the main frame, respectively, and the support link assembly being rigidly connected at a seventh end to the upper leg section and being slidably and pivotably connected at an opposing eighth end to the main frame; a seat section pivotally connected at opposing ends to the back section and the upper leg section; a lower leg section pivotally connected to the upper leg section and freely supported atop a forward end of the main frame; and, a generally linear drive assembly connected at first and second connection ends to and between the back section and either the third linkage assembly or the main frame, the drive assembly being operable to extend and retract to move the first and second connection ends away and toward each other, thereby articulating the bed frame between the fully reclined and fully inclined positions.
The bed frame also allows for a much smaller mattress footprint and permits itself to be folded to a compact, more easily manipulated condition for transport or storage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved bed for hospital, home and nursing care applications.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a space saving and wall hugging bed/bed frame for hospital, home and nursing care applications.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment.